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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Hey CraftSharers! Last week we spent some time on Laminated Cotton. Loads of uses & fun ideas for all kinds of projects. If you missed anything or want to refer back, just click on the CraftShare tab at the top of the blog. I'll keep all past CraftShare posts there so it's easy to find info anytime. This week we'll be checking out another cool fabric: Thermal Batting!

What is Thermal Batting (aka insulated lining)? This polyester looks like batting, but is needlepricked with a metallic film to make it insulate, so just like a thermos, it helps keep the hot thing hot & the cool things cool. There are loads of great uses for it & I can think of some great winter projects like mittens, a cozy coat, toasty snowpants & the list goes on. However, since it's 70+ degrees and the start of summer, those aren't exactly the kinds of projects most of us want to work on right now. Soooooo,

For today's project, Chic Lunch Sac, I'm combining laminated cotton & thermal batting to make a lunchbag we can take out & about in the heat and still keep things tasting cool.

Super easy to make, just cut one rectangle 11"x 26" of Thermal Batting and two rectangles from the laminated cotton (I used laminated cotton for outer & PUL for the lining).

Lay the thermal batting piece on the wrong side of one of the fabric pieces. Right sides facing, fold lengthwise. Do the same for the lining piece.

Stitch up the sides. Mark 2" squares out of the bottom corners of each piece:

Pull the marking lines together at the corners to square them off & then stitch down the line of each corner like this (stitch twice for reinforcement):

Trim the excess fabric triangles off:

Turn the outer bag right side out and insert the lining bag inside. Line up the side seams using bobby pins (so you don't leave holes in your fabric):

Attach bias tape to the open edges using your bobby pins again:

Stitch on your bias tape to attach the outer & lining together:

I added two snaps for the closure. Toss in an icepack and the goodies you want to keep cool and you're good to go! I made mine match the Laminated Beach Bag I made earlier, so we'd keep all our on-the-go stuff clean & fresh!

What projects do you think thermal batting would be ideal for? Have you used it yourself? Don't be shy - share your ideas & tips in the comments and your pics in the CraftShare Flickr pool so everyone can be inspired!

I don't really think outside the box and thought insulbright was only for making hotpads - - but I have some leftover from hotpads and now I know what I want to do! - - thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday! - Mandy, www.craftedition.blogspot.com

I'm still waiting for my laminated cotton to come in the mail but I was thinking . . . insulated travel casserole bag. I'll get it up on the flick pool, as well as my car seat protectors once they are finished.

Hi - I'm a new follower...I just love this tutorial. I'm always on the search for relative easy & practical sewing projects...this one is now on my never-ending list of things to make. I can't wait to see more.

I am going to use this same concept but make my son a car seat cooler with it. Here in AZ it gets to be 110f out and hotter. All the ones I have been looking for are way to expansive for me like almost $50 and they don't even cover the whole seat just where they sit, but all the plastic well heck even the fabric all over the seat get scorching. So I figured I might as well make my own.

What a great idea - I would love to see it when you do. And I know what you mean - I have family in AZ and when visiting in the summer the heat was intense, the metal on my sunglasses burnt my face! Hope yours keeps the little guy cool.

This is amazing! I've been trying to find a very small, insulated lunch bag so I could expand my lunch possibilities (I'm a student and on campus without a break often for 10 hours at a time). My problem was always that even the smallest lunch bags won't fit into my messenger bag. All I really needed was something like this; a sandwich-sized, insulated bag. I have food-grade PUL to line the insides (I've been toying with the idea of making sandwich bags for a while), and thermal batting seems easy to get. I do have one question, though. How long does your food stay insulated? If I slipped a little frozen gel pack in with the sandwich, would it stay cold a long time?

I'm so glad this tutorial has helped! If something is already chilled it should stay cool for a couple of hours. If you put in a cold pack it will definitely extend that time and keep the temp nice and low.

I also have a sandwich bag how-to coming up in a month or so - it'll be a great reusable bag for a sandwich or some small snacks:)

I used the insulated stuff in an experiment a few years ago... My kids' lunch bags always came home at nearly room temperature, even with an ice pack. Considering how far into the day lunch is, I had to wonder how cold it was at that time. I had complaints from my kids about the state of cheese in their lunches as well... So I took last year's basic lunch bag apart and found that all that was between the cold lunch and the warm weather was the inner lining, a thin layer of foam (that gapped at the seams), and canvas.

Ha. Well, I cut some of the insulated material, a layer of batting, and another layer of vinyl and added these to the insides. I wish I could remember where I put each one, as I'm pretty sure I went the route of putting in the insulation in such a way as to keep heat out... well, with layers like that, you can imagine that it's pretty bulky but also comes home cold. Why can't manufacturers manage this? Yeah, I know. Costs. Well, that kind is good enough for my teen who seldom takes things that must remain cold, but my son, who loves ham and cheese, loves his retrofitted lunch bag.

Your design is wonderfully simple, but how do you fasten the top? If there's something easier than a zipper, I'd like to know it! I hate installing zippers... It was murder getting that other one bag together and I'd like to be able to make a bag for our littlest one.

I just used snaps - super easy and with an ice pack int he bag it worked great. You could set them in a different way so you could roll down the top and have it snap close that way too or just go the velcro route. I agree on the zippers - if it's nice & straight it's no problem, but when it had to bend or curve I hate doing them!

Take each corner and pull it outward so the seam is in the center and it points out like a triangle. Then draw a line across to form the triangle shape and stitch across the line. This will square it off and create the depth.

My advertiser, Laminates (https://www.etsy.com/shop/Laminates) does ship worldwide. Her shop is currently on vacation until the end of the month, but that's a great source for a wide range of laminated fabric. For PUL I recommend http://www.diapersewingsupplies.com who also ships internationally.